Child rapist seeking to overturn conviction

Having been convicted last July of rape and sexual activity committed on a girl aged 15, Wesley Bazil, also known as “Tappy”, was sentenced by Demerara High Court Justice Navindra Singh to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
He has now launched an appeal to have his conviction and sentence overturned. His Notice of Appeal has been lodged with the Court of Appeal.
Bazil, a shopkeeper in Guyana, had been deported after serving time in a United States’ jail for a sex crime. In his sentencing remarks, Justice Singh had called Bazil a “recidivist predator”, and said he had dragged his victim through a trial knowing fully well what he had done to her. Given the convict’s perverted ways, the Judge had asked, “Why would I release him?”
When the victim’s impact statement was read to the court by the prosecutor, the teen shared that, as a result of the incident, she had gone through a period of depression.
“The situation got to a point where I thought that everyone was better off without me. It made me drop out of school, and made me start practising self-harm and running away from home. All I had planned for my future was ruined,” she had written.
In December 2020, Bazil had touched the girl inappropriately after she had gone to his shop to make a purchase. The following month, he had dragged her to the back of his yard and raped her. Her parents found out that she had been sexually abused only after her mother had taken away her cellphone and saw that she had been discussing the incident with a friend via text messages. A report was filed with the Police, and Bazil was arrested and prosecuted.
After the jury had announced its verdict, Bazil had attempted to commit suicide by inflicted several cuts to his throat with a razor blade. Swift intervention by the court marshals had, however, prevented him from further injuring himself, but he nonetheless had lost consciousness and collapsed.
He had immediately been rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for medical attention. (G1)